Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-12-29
CHRISTMAS SERMON

CHRISTMAS SERMON.
AT the Methodist Episcopal church OF
sabbath morning there was 4 good sizeJ
congregation. and the services were =
lpecially appropriate 10 a Christmas day
occasion. Rev. James Il. HoIlinEshead
preached a sermon which was fun of in.
ItereSt and traced in glowing words the
history of the Christmas festival. which
was being celebrated over the entire world
: Following is an abstract Of the sermon:
This is a faithful saying. and worthy Of all &C
eeptatIon. that Christ Jesus came INTO the world u
save sinners. y. Tim, IL.
Faithful means truthful. Worth of al
acceptation. means worthy Of universal
reception. Error. when compared with
truth. is Ike chatf 10 wheat. Truth is q
pearl Of great price. whether it spring
! from the earth or shine from the stars.
We are TO buy the truth, and sell it not.
Every truth is not of equal value. \
| truth may enrich one, and not Others;
may be of vast Importance in one place,
and not in any other place; may be of
great interest in one age and of little con-
cern to another. The truth before YOU
to-day is above and before every other
truth. It is for one and every one-for
one place and ever place, for this and
every age; like the precious diamond, it
radiates with splendor peculiarly its
own. We VIII consider
THIS TRUTH IN THE LIGHT OF HISTORY.
This Christmas morning there is not 4
truth so deeply rooted. 50 widely spread
In our country. South America. Europe.
Asia, this day is hailed with universal
rejoicing because that on it Jesus came
into the world.
One hundred wears ago. this truth
was the foremost truth as it is to-day. It
was written by Jefferson in the Declara-
tion. 1t was expressed in the PRAYER
made in the first congress. l have looked
in the pew where Gen. Washington sat
as it was preached. I have handled the
pulpit in which Geo. Whitefeld held it
forth. Before there was a sowing machine,
reaper, steamboat, steamer, telegrapy, or
railroad, this truth was well and widely
known.
Two hundred years ago this truth
moved the nations. The French brought
it among the CanadaS. The PuritanS
preached it in New England. The Bap-
fists rooted it in Rhode Island. The
Swedes in the Jerseys; and Dutch in New
The Quakers in PennSyl-
vani. Catholics in Maryland. Presby-
terians in Virginia. HuguenOts through
the Carolinas, and Spaniards through
7 oricioDo Tbay- II iffara1 or, tI,or II, -, gre
but on this all were in harmony.
Five hundred and eighty-seven years
ago this truth was abroad among the ma
tiOns. Paper had not vet been made;
cannon had not been tested; copper plate
was unknown. Algebra was
not in European arithmetic; Galileo had
not counted the planets of Jupiter; Co
pernlcus had not explained our solar sys- |
tenn; Watts fged not tested steam: print |
ing was not yet discovered; America
unknown. These truths We can trace,
but men had long before gloried in the
cross. The year was called A. D., the
year of our Lord. There were nations
called Christian. Fonts are shown in
which kings were baptized. Churches
stand, in whose walls the word has been
preached for five hundred years. Hymns
we sing, books we read, paintings of
Christ on the cross by the great masters,
are known to be older than the wear
named
The first book printed by movable
types was the Bible. Columbus put names
on the places he discovered that showed
how powerful the truth was over him.
Eight hundred and eighty-seven years
ago the truth swayed kingdoms. Then
Ethelwood had the cross struck or all the
coins. Canute was baptized 1017 i. D. |
Urban was then bishop over the christian
nations. Peter the Hermit preached the
Crusades, and rivers of blood were shed
to rescue the Holy Sepulchre from the in
fidel.
In the year 3003the year was not called
the year of our Lord. There was no
Christian nation. No Christian King
Yet ruddy and bloody prosecutions ragged |
against all who held to this truth, and
they counted not their lives dear. In 303 |
A. D. Constantine saw the flaming cross
with the words By this conquer per
ended the cross was impressed |
on the seals of statesmen, written on ban |
ners, craven on shields. Eighty thousand
gods were cast out of the Pantheon, and |
the Christian religion became the religion
of the Roman Empire when Rome was
mistress of the world.
Nineteen hundred years ago there was
noKing nor nation known by the Christian
name, not man who had heard or ac-
cepted this truth. For 1000 years the
voice of prophecy had been saying He |
will come," all the types foreshadowed, |
all the trumpets sounded to this strain,
all the harps said He will come" Then
to the Wise Men, to the Shepherds, then
to the World, in the fulness Of time the
truth was announced, and all the light of
history shines now on this sublime truth